With our Swiss family, we had always had a bit of a reputation for being late. In fact, back in Switzerland, Richie’s sister, Nicole, would cleverly set her time to about an hour before schedule when inviting her brother for dinner! Well, you couldn’t really play the same game with flights, especially not with a punctual airline like Edelweiss. We’d not seen our Swiss family for two and a half years and it was very important that we were to be on time when meeting them at arrivals in San Jose. But of course, in true last-minute style, we jumped straight out of our taxi and climbed right into their rental car shuttle bus. The thing is, although we would have been able to meet them at arrivals with warm embraces and our travelling gifts in our hands, parking was once again an issue for our tall camper. After much circling around the terminal and a few failed attempts at being able to park at what seemed like a parking lot in the area, we ended up driving to our visitors’ hotel and taking a taxi. One minute later and we would have missed them! Woah!
It was a wonderful reunion though, and we even got to camp right outside their Hilton hotel for the night. Our three-week adventure has begun!
Nicole and Stefan had booked us into a luxurious Airbnb in Puerto Viejo. Just a 15-minute walk to the beach, set in thick jungle and complete with two holiday homes and a swimming pool, we really felt like we were on holiday. It was paradise! Geckos roamed around the tall ceilings, poisonous green frogs darted across the footpaths and howler and white-faced monkeys swung in the trees just outside our windows. This was definitely an area where we could spot all the action. Actually, on our second night together, in nearby Cahuita, at a wonderful Italian restaurant, we got to witness our first sloth! We couldn’t believe it. It had taken Meataroundtheworld a whole month before seeing these three-toed mammals and here we are with the Nägelis sighting them on their second day! We also got to see them close up at the Jaguar sanctuary. A big one and a little baby crawling along architecturally designed walkways. This sanctuary acts as a rehabilitation for endangered species. Whether it be taking in parrots being kept as pets (this is illegal in Costa Rica), a baby monkey rejected by its mother because of an infection, or a blind bird. Funnily enough, what you won’t see here is a Jaguar, and apparently, there never was one taking residence! How very strange!
Puerto Viejo is a tourist hotspot. There is much to see and do and plenty of fine eateries to dive into. After our educational tour about Costa Rican wildlife, we filled our tummies with some exquisite local Creole food. And who might we just bump into on our way there? Christof and Marion from Germany. You may remember us meeting them when camped on lake Arenal. Well, like us, they were entertaining their sister, and of course, jumped at the chance of joining us for lunch. A decision no one regretted that afternoon- tender rabbit slow cooked in a coconut milk sauce, a terrific Surf and Turf, and lots of fresh fish, brought in from the morning’s catch… yum, yum!
And as if our stomachs were not satisfied enough, we all gluttonously moved onto dessert- at a cacao farm. It was run by a Swiss. Although his chocolate doesn’t make it as far as Switzerland, his cylinder bars mixed with a variety of flavours such as basil, or chili, are a yummy treat. The tour itself is not to be missed. Not only do you get a detailed and hands-on walkthrough of the process from bean to bar, but the owner shows his visitors all the other flora and fauna to be found on his finca with exotic fruit tastings as you go. Definitely to be recommended!
After a week of blissful comfort (thank you so very much Nägelis for pampering us and spoiling us rotten), it was time to show our guests how to be true Overlanders. Thanks to ‘Nomad America’, holidaymakers can get a taste of this lifestyle without having to break the bank and purchase a rig. They can rent a fully equipped 4X4 vehicle with a rooftop tent and traverse all the terrains of Costa Rica in order to fulfill their adventurous dreams. It’s certainly a new initiative for Central America and one that is taking off fast.
So, back to San Jose it was, to get the Nägelis all kitted out. Oh, and also collect a few meat treats for the road. Yes, there was only one place in town to get that chorizo and delicious bacon; Chema’s Carniceria of course! …well, before spending the night at his Red-Angus finca that is.
You may remember us speaking of Tico hospitality in our last blog post. Chema is no exception when it comes to entertaining foreigners. In fact, apart from showering us with meat goodies time and time again, he and his wife, Theresa had presented us with a typical Costa Rican coffee maker, accompanied with personally engraved coffee cups and two special gifts for Zoe. It was our first official acquaintance, and we were so unbelievably touched.
Well, here we were again, staying at his private farm, with our Swiss family, being treated to tacos filled with ribeyes and a ‘gallo pinto’ breakfast the next morning.
A hearty breakfast was just the perfect start to our day- we said our goodbyes and thank yous and headed to Cartago. Cartago is famous for its church ‘Ruinas de Cartago’. Never actually completed because of the earthquake of 1910, it is to this day still left in ruins. Quite an impressive sight for this now bustling modern town.
We didn’t spend too much time in Cartago- as we wanted to get to the Mirador Paseo del Quetzal before dark. We were visiting Jenny and her Quetzals again. It was a glorious Sunday afternoon when we arrived and the restaurant was packed with locals from the city enjoying the cooler temperatures and forest air. Sure enough, a male Quetzal was already sitting on his branch, ready to welcome our visitors (their luck just kept following them!).
It was a cold evening, and probably not what our guests were expecting for their first night in a rooftop tent, but with our outdoor fairy lights and a huge campfire installed, it was a magical one!
The next morning we took the road back up north to La Fortuna. La Fortuna and Monteverde are those number one Costa Rican tourist areas. We had had a little taster back in June- but knew that this was one for our family vacation. And boy did we cram a lot in!
We took a walk around a sloth trail, drank out of coconuts in the hot bubbling river waters, hiked to the foot of Volcan Arenal- scrambling over lava rocks for that all-impressive backdrop photo; observed vipers, sleeping birds and howler monkeys on a night trail; and floated high above the cloud forest along nine of Monteverde’s swinging bridges.
It was spectacular, and worth each and every colone the attractions were asking for. Yes, this really is ‘Costalot Rica’!
It was time to move on again, and we suggested the blue zone of Nicoya. On our last visit, we had not made it as far north as Tamarindo, so thought that this other tourist hotspot might be something for our guests. Well, unfortunately, ‘Tamagringo’ (Gringo is a Spanish word meaning American used by all locals across Latin America) did not appear to be something for us. It certainly lived up to its nickname, with not a single sign to be found written in Spanish nor any locals for that matter. This surf spot was more like a cool hip town in California. It was too busy, and there was no parking, so we simply turned around heading further north along the pacific coast for a couple of nights.
Our final tourist attraction together was Manuel Antonio. A National Park with miles and miles of white sandy beaches, trails which lead through the very humid tropical jungle, a whole host of wildlife, and expert guides who can spot even the most camouflaged chameleons through their telescopes.
Having already taken part in many guided trails over the past three weeks, we were a little reluctant in hiring a guide for this last one. But we have to admit these guys know what they’re doing. They work together with their walkie-talkies radioing in on recent finds, and their in-depth knowledge about the habitat and its species is first class. How else would we have found out that a sloth only climbs down to the ground once a week to do his business? This poor guy was caught in the act…
As we were near Uvita, we decided to spend our last nights together at Hostel Tortuga, visiting Chema’s daughter Mar again, enjoying the swimming pool and nearby beaches, and eating one more slice of Dutch oven key lime pie.
With a heavy heart, it was time to drive back to San Jose airport and say our goodbyes. It was a fast-track speedy tour of Costa Rica. We’d ticked most of the recommendations listed in the guidebooks, caught sight of probably 90% of the must-see wildlife and each party recorded well over 100 ‘Pura Vidas’ in the family vacation competition. Of course, with Lenny on the team, the Nägelis won! It was an unforgettable fun three weeks!
Thank you Stefan, Nicole, Lenny and Marlon for dedicating a great amount of your time for this adventure! It wouldn’t have been the same without you!
Until next time.
Thanks for reading and we’ll ‘meat’ you guys around the world!
